Tuesday, May 31, 2011

I am very fortunate that my mom and step-dad (aka Grammy and Papa) live in the same town as us. They are a huge help for me and have a wonderful relationship with our children. Our oldest has been begging asking for weeks if he can go sleepover at Grammy's house. And Grammy has been asking even more. So last week we decided that after Grammy was watching three of the kids for me on Friday, I would leave him there and she would bring him back to us on Saturday. For one week I had to listen to "I can't wait for it to be Friday so I can go sleep over Grammy's house!" over and over again. To the point where I couldn't wait for it to be Friday myself, just so he would stop saying it!

So Friday came and it was a crazy day of running around doing some grocery shopping and getting the little guy to a doctor's appointment. We all had dinner together at my mom's and then I packed up my three other boys and headed home while the six year old stayed behind for his fun-filled night with Grammy, Papa and their new puppy.

The next morning, one by one the boys woke up. Starting at around 5:30am, gah! Unfortunately, that is pretty typical. We went downstairs, had breakfast and they all played. Very nicely. Without fighting. My house was surprisingly quiet. My husband and I could not get over how much less fighting there was with one of the kids not there. In fact there was literally no fighting amongst the boys at all. In general our boys get along really well, but they are brothers after all and brothers are meant to squabble every now and then. Or all the time. Whatever.

At around 2:00pm Grammy arrived with her house guest and no joke, the noise level in my house quadrupled. It was insane. I asked her which child she plans on taking next weekend as we have decided she needs to rotate one every weekend for the rest of the summer. For good measure I threw in a little bit of guilt and reminded her that it wasn't fair for her to play favorites and only have one sleepover. She needs to do it for all of them. They would all love some quality time with Grammy and Papa! Plus I think it is good for the boys to get out and do things solo without their brothers.

And of course, we very much enjoyed the peaceful morning. I want more of them. It was quite amazing how different the dynamic is with three kids compared to four. Someone once told me that going from three to four isn't a big deal and I'll tell you that that sure is a load of garbage. Four kids is INSANE. I'll take any kind of break I can get.

Grammy will be getting a reminder today that she needs to decided who her next sleepover buddy will be.

Do your kids ever do sleepovers with their grandparents, cousins etc.?

Monday, May 30, 2011

So week 1 of the 20 Second Fitness Program is in the books and I must say I am very proud of myself for sticking to it thus far! On Sunday I completed Warmup Week 1 which consisted of 6 days of 4 to 5 minute workouts. On Day 7 you are given a day off to rest, but I decided to keep things going and redid a workout form one of the previous days.

In this first week, each workout was either 4 or 5 minutes long. That time is made up of 20 second reps of 4 different exercises. On the first day Spencer hit me with pushups and I am really REALLY awful at those. By the time my 4 minutes was up I was completely out of breath and my heart rate was really pumping. I woke up the next day super soar, but that made me happy because I knew I was working hard.I found myself looking forward to my workout every day which is a first for me, and I think it is because it is so quick and easy to fit into my schedule. The video below is a 2 minute demo of what a workout is like. It is fast and intense

What I like so far:
~ Super quick, intense workouts.
~ I am completely out of breath at the end of each workout.
~ Each workout shows several people each at a different intensity level so you have someone to pace yourseld against, no matter what level you are at yourself.
~ I find myself doing some of the exercises like Quick Feet throughout the day, just to give myself a little boost.
~ I already feel better about myself even though I don't notice any physical changes yet.

When you first get started with this program and before you even pop in that Warmup disk, I highly recommend viewing the introduction disk which has very important videos for proper form. I initially skipped it figuring it wouldn't be a big deal but then I was faced with exercises I had never seen before. So on Day 2 I back tracked and went through those form instructions before moving on to my exercise for the day.

Later today I will be starting Warmup Week 2 and I am looking forward to see if it is harder than the first week. I did not weigh or measure myself at the end of Week 1 (too much snacking this week) but I am pledging to be better about food from this point on and I will update with statistics at the end of Week 2.

Free Shipping Discount!
Use code green mamas pad when your order 20 Second Fitness and receive free shipping in the Continental United States or a $15 discount for orders to Canada and overseas.

I was given a 20 Second Fitness Program kit free of charge in order to try it out and report back on my progress. I received no monetary compensation and all thoughts and opinions are my own. Always check with your doctor first before starting any fitness routine or program.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Last week our twins turned four and my husband had the idea of taking them to The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT for their birthday. While both my husband and our six year old had been there several times before, the rest of had not. So once the boys go home from school around noon, we had a quick lunch and then packed into the minivan to head on over.

The Maritime Aquarium focuses on the marine animals of the Long Island Sound and its watershed. The Long Island Sound watershed consists of the entire state of Connecticut plus areas of new York, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and even Canada. The Maritime Aquarium strives to protect the sound and reminds us that the actions of those living in the watershed area directly affect the sound and the well being of its animals.

"The Maritime Aquarium inspires people of all ages to appreciate Long Island Sound and protect it for future generations. A vibrant and entertaining learning environment, the Maritime Aquarium achieves this goal through living exhibits, marine science, and environmental education."

When we got there we were greeted by very friendly and helpful staff. We were also thrilled that there were hardly any visitors there! It pays to go on a school day (assuming your kids are not in school yet). A few weeks earlier my husband and oldest son were there during spring break and said it was insane. So go on an "off peak" day if you can. The twins were so super excited at this point and could not wait to go in and see the animals. Here is a short photo journey of our trip. You'll notice that photography is not my strong point. Someday I will learn how to use this expensive camera properly.

Our Visit

First up was the stingray touch pool where the kids were able to put their hands right in and touch some of the rays. The boys loved it and we made a second trip back to it at the end.

They were obsessed with this "baby stingray" and our oldest would not leave until he got to touch it.

The flounder exhibit was very cool and because it is at about knee level, the kids were able to get right up to it and look down at the fish. It was definitely difficult to try and spot all of the flounders camouflaged in the sand.

The meerkats are the only exhibit that is not an animal from the Long Island Sound watershed. Children (and adults) can crawl into the little bubble to get a close up view of these little guys running around.

At the Go Fish exhibit their is a a 30,000 gallon tank filled with various fish that reside in the Long Island Sound like salmon, cod, striped bass and more. Unfortunately non of my pictures of the fish came out.

In the Go Fish area there is a child size mock boat where kids can try out some fishing (with paper fish). There is also information on which fish are OK to eat and catch.

We spent a lot of time in the frog area as our boys could not get enough of them! There were a lot of tanks filled with frogs and salamanders with plenty of step stools so the kids could see them better. I loved these vibrantly colored frogs. So cute!

And there were your larger more typical looking frogs. There were even others that I swear were as large as a chihuahua. I didn't like those as much.

The river otters were super cute and incredibly active. They were swimming and jumping and a lot of fun to watch. Our boys kept running back and forth with the otters.

We spotted some starfish as we made our way through the many exhibits.

The shark tank was HUGE and even had stadium seating. The boys were in awe of the big sharks swimming around. {insert Jaws music}

The jellyfish tank was pretty awesome and we even got to see a staff member feed them. I much prefer looking at jellyfish this way than out in the real world. I really don't like when they creep up along side of me in the ocean. Not cool.

Look! We found Nemo and Dorie!!!

At long last we made it to the sea turtles. I say this because the six year old would not stop talking about the giant sea turtle the entire walk through the aquarium. I guess this particular sea turtle left a big impression on him during his prior visit. Then I saw why. Wow.

If you follow the flow of the map, your tour through the aquarium both begins and ends at the harbor seals. This was my favorite part as I love watching them swim around and jump up on the rocks. Plus they have such adorable faces.

We finished our walk through the aquarium just in time to watch the last seal feeding. The trainer came out out with two buckets of fish and told us all about the seals living there at the aquarium.

In addition to the traditional aquarium exhibits, The Maritime Aquarium also has some fun extras: an IMAX theater, and adventure ride and a cruise around the Long Island Sound (in season). We did not have time for the IMAX movie this time around, but my husband and son saw the movie Born to be Wild back in April and they loved it. In fact my son's exact words after exiting the theater were "That was the coolest movie ever!"

Daddy did take the older 3 into the Happy Feet 3D adventure ride while I stayed back with the little guy. They did seem to enjoy it and asked if they could do it again. Overall we had a wonderful afternoon at The Maritime Aquarium and everyone really enjoyed themselves. I am glad we decided to make it part of their special day.

The Maritime Aquarium is open year round except on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. There are always several special exhibits going on, like the meerkats, for you and your family to enjoy. Right now there is also an interesting special exhibit "Seasons of Change, Global Warming in Your Backyard" which examines how global warming is affecting New England. Hours, ticket prices, special events and exhibits can all be found on their website, www.maritimeaquarium.org. With the school year set to end in about a month, a visit to The Maritime Aquarium is a nice way to spend a hot summer day. So go ahead and plan your tip now, you'll be happy you did.

I leave you with one final thought: remember that we are all connected! What we do in our own backyard can make its way into streams and then rivers and then oceans. Maybe before you spray pesticides over your lawn or dump chemicals down the drain, you can stop and think about how those actions may harm other creatures and choose an alternative method.

Since chicken is really the only meat my kids will eat, roasted chicken is a staple in my house. In the winter months it is usually made once a week but I tend to limit it once summer rolls around since we don't have central air conditioning. Running an oven for 1.5 hours in 90 degree weather is not fun at all. What I love about roasting a chicken is that it always leaves me with plenty of leftovers for other meals. You can use it for chicken salad, chicken sandwiches, chicken soup and I am sure lots more. I know plenty of people will take the bones and make homemade chicken stock as well.

I know what you are thinking - "Who the heck needs a recipe for roasted chicken? Just throw it in the oven!" Sure you could do that if you'd like, but that is no fun. This is a super easy, basic recipe but we love it so much. This is how my mother always made a roasted chicken and now it is how I do it for my family. My husband and I fight over the crispy, tangy skin! Last week I was accused of eating more than my share.

I always suggest using organic ingredients whenever possible, but in the case of the chicken I just could not swing it. I was at the store looking at the chickens and the regular store brand was about $7.50 for 7.5 pounds while the organic, free range chicken was literally double that for a much smaller chicken.That is just insane so I had to pass.

A kitchen gadget that I love for this is my Misto Olive Oil Sprayer. If you don't have one then I highly recommend you look into getting one. I love mine so much and use it all the time. It certainly makes the prep for this so much easier!

Lemon Roasted Chicken Recipe

Directions
~ Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
~ Remove bag of chicken pieces from inside of chicken. Rinse inside and out and pat dry.
~ Place chicken on rack in a pan. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon all over the chicken and place lemon rind inside.
~ Spray chicken with olive oil or if you don't have a Misto you can brush the olive oil on.
~ Season with garlic salt and pepper.
~ Flip chicken over to its roasting position and then repeat the lemon, olive oil and seasoning steps on this side.
~ I always get a chicken with a pop-up timer so I just put in the oven and leave it until that pops. If you use a meat thermometer then make sure you cook it until the inside reaches the appropriate temperature.
~ Let chicken sit for 5-10 minutes then slice and serve.

Monday, May 23, 2011

My weight has been an up and down struggle for me since my early teen years. I am sure there are plenty of people out there who can relate to that. My senior year of high school I got tired of being chunky and lost 25 pounds to get to 128 pounds. No crazy fad diets, I just cut out junk food and soda and kept my portions under control. I felt awesome and I was able to stay around 130 for quite a few years after that. Once I got married the weight started to creep back on and by the time I became pregnant with our first son in 2004, I was 142. Two years later when I started my pregnancy with our twins, I was 152. And by the end of that pregnancy I was up to about 190. Fortunately the weight always came off really quickly for me with nursing and being on a dairy/soy free diet for my infants. However once I start eating all foods again, the weight gain starts once more. When I got pregnant with our 4th son in 2009, I was the heaviest I had ever been hovering near 160. And at 5'4", that is not a healthy weight for me.

My youngest in now almost 18 months old and I am weighing in at 145 pounds. Honestly, that is not too bad considering I have had 4 babies in 5 years (3 pregnancies). Losing and keeping baby weight off is hard enough and on top of that I just kept having more babies which didn't do anything positive for my weight or body. And I swear there are some parts of my body that look like they exploded post-children. It is yucky and I want to do something about it. My biggest problem is finding the time to exercise with 4 children. They are usually up by 6:00am and then it is non stop go-go-go until they are all asleep at 8:00pm. Even though 3 of them are in school for 2.5 hours in the morning, I still have the little guy home with me and he is pretty much attached to me. {sigh} So breaking out my Wii Fit or a 45 minute workout DVD is not really an option. The only time I have to myself is at night and once 8:00pm rolls around I am way too exhausted to exercise.

So when I was given the opportunity to try out the 20 Second Fitness Program I jumped at it. This program guarantees that with just 4 minutes of intense exercising every day, you can see results. Well 4 minutes is definitely something I can work into my busy schedule. It is called 20 Second Fitness because you do each exercise in 20 second intervals. The program consists of 6 DVDs, set of resistance bands, jump rope, food guide and a wall calendar to track your progress.

I really am so excited to get started with this and plan on sharing the journey and my progress here with you. Today is Day 1 for me so I will be doing my workout a bit later and I'll try to follow up tomorrow with how it went and some more information on the workout. I don't plan on posting every single day because that would be a bit much but I do plan on posting at least once a week and more if I can.

Right now I am going to share the most difficult thing I have ever shared on this blog, my measurements and a before picture. I apologize for the blurriness, my husband took these last night with my iPhone while we were both exhausted after the twins' birthday party. Sorry, no bare belly pictures or anything, no one needs to see that.

Weight: 145 lbs

Waist: 34.5"

Hips: 40"

Thigh: 23"

Arm: 11"

You can kind of see that post-child belly a little bit and that is one thing I desperately want to get rid of. Before kids I had a pretty flat belly but like I said, some areas just exploded and won't go back. My goal is to get down to around 130 pounds and shed some inches. I think fifteen pounds is very attainable and I am really optimistic that this routine will work for me and help me get into shape again. Stay tuned!

I was given a 20 Second Fitness Program kit free of charge in order to try it out and report back on my progress. I received no monetary compensation and all thoughts and opinions are my own. Always check with your doctor first before starting any fitness routine or program.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Well it has been a rainy week here in Connecticut and next week is shaping up to be the same. I am going crazy! But the one bright spot is that Sunday looks like it will be a beautiful day which is good for us since it is our twins' birthday party.

As usual, please add both your green and non-green giveaways and contests into Mr. Linky below so we can do some blog hoppin! Be sure to include the expiration date. Thanks!

You can also submit your green giveaways to me during the week for me to feature on Fridays.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

It sounds counter-intuitive, but one of the simplest ways nearly half of power consumers in the United States can take a considerable effort toward becoming more environmentally conscious is by participating in green product options provided by their utility company. In essence these programs add an extra fee to the monthly electrical bill guaranteeing the customer's additional cost is going towards the implantation and integration of renewable and sustainable energy resources. Since these options began being offered a few years ago their popularity has boomed as more and more Americans are excepting personal responsibility for the future of the global environment. Between 2005 and 2006 alone, before serious government measures began to take hold in the form of the EPA's Green Power Partnership, green option buy-ins increased nationally by 40%.

Many utility companies are promising customers that their green options are contributing to massive renewable energy efforts. For instance Energy Plus out of Philadelphia, which just saw big gains westward into Illinois, guarantees its green option gives customers the satisfaction of supporting 100% wind generated power every month. Since the integration of this program as a voluntary buy-in for their customers' monthly billing, Energy Plus Holdings has seen increased confidence in its stock market power, enabling further interstate investments. The message is clear: utility companies making the effort to get customer-backed investments in renewable and sustainable energy resources up and running are being valued as more likely to be competing long-term.

Check with your electric company to see if such a green option is available. The chances are 50/50 that it is, with the likelihood nearly doubled if you live in a highly populated state. If the additional cost is affordable for your family, seriously consider it if you consider yourself serious about the environment. If there is no such option made available by your electric company, inquire as to why that's the case. The more customers convey interest, the more likely they'll consider it as a future option.

Power companies are going to be the gatekeepers to an environmentally-sound future in the United States. But the drive of incentive is cyclical; without customers displaying interest in green options many utility companies won't invest in efforts to provide such options. While we often expect enormous entities to always be in control, we shouldn't forget that we're the ones paying the bills.

Giving my family healthy food is something that is very important to me. Over the past 4 years I have worked very hard to move away from all of the processed junk, and believe me, we ate too much of it. We still eat some processed foods but the ones we do eat I try to keep them either natural or organic so that the ingredients are not horrific. One of the things we pretty much eliminated all together were lunch meats since it was nearly impossible for me to find nitrate-free options and studies have show nitrates linked to certain cancers.

Then I recently discovered Applegate Farms who makes quality organic & natural meats. Their range of natural meat products is actually quite extensive from more than 20 cold cut meats to hot dogs, sausages and bacon to frozen meat products like chicken nuggets and beef burgers. They even have cheese. Some of their products are certified organic and the rest are all-natural and antibiotic free. You will also not find any added nitrates or nitrates in any of the Applegate products.

When you pick up an Applegate Farms product, you can be assured that...~ Our animals are never given antibiotics. Healthy animals don’t need medicine. Instead, we give them space, fresh air, and a healthy diet, which we’re certain beats the alternative.~ Our livestock eat a completely vegetarian diet with no animal by-products. Cattle in our organic program are grass-fed. Hogs and poultry in our organic program are fed a grain diet that includes corn, soy, barley, and flax that are free from GMOs.~ Our animals are never given hormones or artificial growth promotants. They grow at their natural rate.~ All of our products are made with natural and organic ingredients. If you aren’t familiar with a particular ingredient, email us and we’ll tell you what it is.~ Our products are all minimally processed, allowing for a wholesome texture and taste.~ Our products never contain artificial nitrates or nitrites. Instead, we use celery juice and sea salt to preserve our products the natural and old fashioned way.~ Our deli meat, hot dogs, burgers, and bacon are gluten and casein free.~ Our products are made from natural and organic whole muscle meat. Yes, even our hot dogs! No mystery here.

Applegate Farms sent me a bunch of yummy food to try out and believe me I enjoyed it! From their cold cuts line I tasted the Natural Roasted Chicken Breast and Natural Pepperoni. Up until this point I had never had chicken in lunch meat form so this was totally new for me. The Applegate chicken breast was so good that it has now become a staple for me in my house. I don't like to eat lunch meat every day, but maybe two to three times a week I will have the chicken bread with lettuce, tomato and dried cranberries on toasted bread. It is delicious! Oh and smeared with mayonnaise which I realize negates anything healthy I was trying to do but I don't care. I am getting hungry from just typing that. now when I opened up the package of Applegate pepperoni my 6 year old came over to check it out and ask what it was. Then he asked to try it and most parents know that when a kid asks to try something new on his own, that is HUGE. So he tried a slice. And then another. And another. Yeah their pepperoni was a huge hit. I have to admit that it even made me a fan. I am not a fan of spicy foods and this was not overly spicy at all and had a really nice flavor. I found myself opening the fridge just to grab a few slices to snack on.

I was also sent some of Applegate's frozen breakfast sausages to try out. Now my husband will not touch any kind of bacon, sausage or burger made with turkey. I have no idea why because it doesn't make any sense to me since he does like turkey. So he ate the Natural Classic Pork Breakfast Sausage while I ate the Natural Savory Turkey Breakfast Sausage. He was so excited to have sausage with is eggs in the morning! The breakfast sausage can either be cooked in the microwave or in a pan on your stove top. The first morning we tried it in the microwave and I would not recommend that. It could just be the strength of ours, but they came out very tough. So on morning #2 I did it on the stove and they were so much better this way. My husband gobbled his up and definitely enjoyed them. A lot. What I found interesting is these sausages also had a little kick of pepper to them. It was very different and tasty.

I was so excited to see that our Big Y in town carried their products and just recently our Stop & Shop started carrying them as well. As I mentioned since receiving my samples of Applegate Farms meats I have been continuously buying the Roasted Chicken Breast lunch meat. Last week I picked up some of their bacon and no joke, the best bacon ever! I am dying to try their grass fed organic beef hot dogs, which have rave reviews on their website. I might have to pick up a package of those very soon.

Giveaway
Applegate Farms sent me a bunch of coupons to giveaway! So four (4) winners will each receive ten (10) $1.00 off coupons good for any Applegate Farms product.

Extra Entries
- If you already eat Applegate Farms products, tell me which one is your favorite.
- "Like" Applegate Farms on Facebook and tell them I sent you! Please leave me your first name and last name initial to validate. Worth 2 entries so leave 2 comments.
- "Like" Green Mama's Pad on Facebook. Please leave me your first name and last name initial to validate. Be sure to say hi to me!
- Share this giveaway with link on Facebook and be sure to "tag" Applegate Farms and Green Mama's Pad when you share it. You can do this once daily. Leave link in comment.
- Follow Green Mama's Pad publicly on Google Friend Connect.
- Subscribe to my RSS feed in a reader or subscribe via e-mail. Your email must validate or it will not count.
- Add my Green Mama's Pad button to your sidebar or add Green Mama's Pad to your blogroll. Leave your blog link.
- Follow @GreenMamasPad, and @ApplegateFarms on Twitter and and tweet this giveaway. Tweets are unlimited but must be at least 3 hours apart. Leave link to tweet in comment. You must have at least 50 followers. Please use the following when tweeting:#Win 10 coupons for $1 off @ApplegateFarms products via @GreenMamaspad. 4 winners. #Giveaway ends 6/14 http://bit.ly/mvoe3c
- Follow Green Mama's Pad on StumbleUpon. Worth 3 entries so leave 3 comments plus your StumbleUpon ID.
- Stumble one of my non-giveaway posts and tell me which one. Worth 2 entries so leave 2 comments with your ID.

This giveaway is open to legal US Residents 18+ only and will end on Tuesday, June 14 at 11:59pm EST. One winner will be chosen at random using Random.org and will be posted on the Winner's Announcement Page. Winner has 48 hours to claim his/her prize otherwise a new winner will be picked. Please leave your e-mail address in all of your comment(s) so I can contact you. I will not share your e-mail address with anyone, it will strictly be used to notify you if you win. Good luck!

Please note that the opinions and views expressed in this review are my own and based on my personal experience with the product and/or company. You may encounter a different experience with this than I did. I received a product free of charge for review.

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by the blog owner. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Disclosure Policy | Privacy Policy